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Faith

by Jennifer Haigh (Goodreads Author)

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 · rating details · 7,092 ratings · 1,295 reviews

When Sheila McGann sets out to redeem her disgraced brother, a once-beloved Catholic priest in suburban Boston, her quest will force her to confront cataclysmic truths about her fractured Irish-American family, her beliefs, and, ultimately, herself. Award-winning author Jennifer Haigh follows her critically acclaimed novels Mrs. Kimble and The Condition with a captivating,...more

Hardcover, 322 pages

Published May 10th 2011 by Harper (first published May 1st 2011)

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Kirkus Best Books of 2011

11th out of 88 books — 150 voters

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

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Jul 13, 2011 Jeanette rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-fiction, america, domestic-and-relationship-fiction, philosophy-theology, five-star-fiction, av

This is a family drama that was hard to put down. It has an element of suspense I hadn't expected in a story of this nature. Haigh's characters come alive, and her subtle observations about family dynamics are on target. There's also a welcome absence of melodrama, which serves to strengthen the book's effect.

The plot crisis occurs in 2002, when the pedophile priest scandal has rocked the Boston Archdiocese. Father Arthur Breen's family is shocked when he is accused of molesting a little boy wit...more

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May 20, 2013 Gary McTiernan rated it 3 of 5 stars

I am a sucker for family dramas: I go to weddings and marvel as the ghosts of my dead relatives pass before me, reincarnated in the bodies of their children and grandchildren. I am a lapsed Catholic from a long line of religious cynics and, as a native New Yorker, I've always felt some skepticism about Boston with its Red Sox mania and Irish hegemony.(view spoiler)

Faith encompasses all of these elements, as it delves into one family's struggles after the eldest son, a middle-ag...more

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Jul 08, 2011 switterbug (Betsey) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Jennifer Haigh exerts a sublime spin on the unreliable narrator in this probing, poignant saga of an Irish-American family hailing from South Boston. Sheila McGann, the central narrator, left Boston and her Catholic faith years ago while her family stayed in "Southie." The cardinal premise is the question of whether her half-brother, Art, a once esteemed and trusted but now disgraced and defrocked parish priest, is really guilty of alleged egregious acts. This is 2002, when the Archdiocese of Bo...more Jennifer Haigh exerts a sublime spin on the unreliable narrator in this probing, poignant saga of an Irish-American family hailing from South Boston. Sheila McGann, the central narrator, left Boston and her Catholic faith years ago while her family stayed in "Southie." The cardinal premise is the question of whether her half-brother, Art, a once esteemed and trusted but now disgraced and defrocked parish priest, is really guilty of alleged egregious acts. This is 2002, when the Archdiocese of Boston is in the whir of sexual scandal and suppression of criminal child abuse.

The story is told as verity is sought through Sheila as first-person witness to her family history. She serves as a sieve or net and sometimes a buoy or beacon and even a trespass or misstep as she harnesses the voices of her family and other witnesses. With her own voice, she intimately addresses the reader. Her destination is the hopeful arrival at truth and exoneration.

Sheila, as narrator, is like the conscientious driver who reliably navigates known roads, and aims to steer well through dim or dark patches and thick blankets of fog. But the cursory compass of her mother's stoicism, Art's dubious determinism, and (her brother) Mike's aggressive loss of faith in Art keep Sheila and the reader in the alternating shadows of fact and fallacy. We're on a guided (and sometimes inadvertently misguided) tour of one family's hell and well of secrets, lies, and fault lines. We move in time with Sheila to parse gospel from myth.

What we do know is that Sheila's mother had two husbands. The first man fled when Art was a baby, and the Catholic Church subsequently annulled the marriage. The second one, Ted, is the alcoholic father of Sheila and Mike, a man whose liver is now the size of a moving van and whose brain is the size of a pea. He lives in the basement of the house with his baseball on television and fragmented memories. Once a tyrant, he is now a pussycat.

Sheila's mother, still attractive in her sixties, is the repository of guilt, denial, and appearances. Her preference for Art above her other two children is sinfully transparent and her store of secrets and silence is woefully debilitating. Mike lives ten minutes away with his urbane Lutheran wife, Abby, who detests all things Catholic. Their sons, much to Abby's opposition, receive a Catholic education. Their marriage becomes strained after Art's disgrace from the parish, and Mike vows to find out the truth as Abby's hatred and mistrust of the Catholic Church is vindicated and exacerbated by the scandal. Furthermore, Sheila's attempt to communicate with Art is thwarted by his evasive passivity.

The story's progression from shadow to light is finessed by Haigh's ability to organically and gradually tease out the repressed and unknown facts and annex it to Sheila's existing information and beliefs. Nuggets of truth are mined from artifact with shattering grace, and the weight of the past and the sorrow of the present intersect with astonishing clarity. The author took a potentially explosive and sensationalistic premise and turned it into a predominantly quiet, tenacious story of doubt, faith, and redemption.

The novel is equally appealing to the secular or orthodox, and Haigh's natural and luminous prose shimmers on every page. There's no preaching or melodrama glossing the story or lurid and commercial exploitation lacing the events. It is a deliberating but nuanced treatment of a subject too often made smarmy and shrill by the media. The focus is the substance of family and the binding and severed ties that tangle the heart.

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May 22, 2011 Staci rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Staci by: Amazon Vine

Shelves: 2011-reads

Most of you have heard, by now, what happened to my brother, or a version of it: the alarming events of that spring and summer, the single, vile accusation, still unproven, that made a ruin of his life. *{p.10}

Synopsis:
When Sheila McGann sets out to redeem her disgraced brother, a once-beloved Catholic priest in suburban Boston, her quest will force her to confront cataclysmic truths about her fractured Irish-American family, her beliefs, and, ultimately, herself.

My Thoughts:
This book literally...more

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Feb 26, 2012 Mum rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: great-story, fiction

To be fair, her writing has improved since she wrote Mrs. Kimble. That said, her style begs for something to tell the reader which voice or style she is using, and if she chooses not to do that, shorter, merely numbered chapters would be a huge assist. The story did carry me through the rough spots, and the re-reading because something had changed. That is to her credit. She can still improve on her characterization of men. I always feel, be "HE" boy or man, she prefers each be unclear, a reflec...more

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Oct 29, 2011 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked this book because it had a unique plot that took place within the realm of the Catholic Church. However, I do not feel that the narrative (on the cover) regarding "Sheila" was the true subject of the book. This is misleading to one browsing and deciding to read or not. All characters were represented equally: Fr. Arthur, Mike, Kath and, to a smaller degree, other members of the Breen and McGann family. Some of the scenarios I found a bit far fetched, in relation to the belief system of t...more

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Apr 19, 2013 Tim rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's a sound decision to approach from the outside looking in a story of a priest accused of molestation. It's such a private crime (or accusation) and galvanizes the public so much, there's a great sense of the unknown. Just what happened? Jennifer Haigh's narrator in "Faith" is the sister of the accused, and she tells the story through her own assumptions and reconstructions of half-known details and her dealings with her brother.

Unfortunately, Haigh's story is sunk by the potential pitfalls o...more

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Apr 16, 2013 William Punch added it

I was recommended to read this book by Fr Ronald Rolheiser. He chose it as one of the best reads of 2012.
It is well written, and is close enough to the truth to be more a biography than a novel.it tells of the tragic consequence of the pedophile scandal in the Catholic Church. The criminal behavior of bishops, in this case a cardinal, has left innocent priests unprotected.
This is what happened to Arthur Breen a priest of the Boston archdiocese, unjustly accused and then abandoned by the church...more I was recommended to read this book by Fr Ronald Rolheiser. He chose it as one of the best reads of 2012.
It is well written, and is close enough to the truth to be more a biography than a novel.it tells of the tragic consequence of the pedophile scandal in the Catholic Church. The criminal behavior of bishops, in this case a cardinal, has left innocent priests unprotected.
This is what happened to Arthur Breen a priest of the Boston archdiocese, unjustly accused and then abandoned by the church leadership, not only losing his fruitful ministry but also his good name and even family. It is close to the story of a priest friend of mine.
The book asks many questions. Arthur's supposed criminal immorality is being judged by a brother who is more immoral, since he chose to be unfaithful to his wife, and faced no scrutiny. His sister, who tells the story has had a sad life and many sexual relationships tolerated by the sme society that condemned her brother.
The whole issue of clerical celibacy is challenged, and now, as I know from my own ministry, a priest is not allowed to be closely friendly with children and women. It is not a life I would want to lead and happily it has not been the one I have had to suffer. I don't know where I would be if beginning priestly ministry today - parents trusted me with their sons and daughters, and they have produced life-long friendships and an enjoyable priestly life for me.
We know the church is challenged about celibacy, it seems to be a sign that works against itself - a celibate priest is considered odd and not capable of being trusted with the very people he has given his life to helping. And the book brings out well the loneliness of that life for diocesan priests. This book should be read by church leaders.
It also should be read by members of the church. Jesus said, "By their fruits you shall know them." We should be trusted until we betray that trust, not just because we seem odd in a society that demands no sexual standards.(less)

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Apr 13, 2013 Ellyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013

This novel takes place in 2002 and is narrated by Sheila McGann, whose older brother, Arthur Breen, is a diocesan priest in surburban Boston accused of molesting a young boy, to everyone's great surprise. Sheila sets out to tell Arthur’s story and to investigate the accusations against him, and in doing so, she also explores the history of her Irish-Catholic family and how past events and family secrets impact how each of them responds to the accusations against Arthur. Sheila also tells the sto...more

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Apr 05, 2013 Cary Griffith rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm a slow reader. A fast-paced read usually takes me about a week, what with my own work and the other nagging demands on my time. Last Sunday I started the day already 36 pages into Jennifer Haigh's fine book Faith. Woke up, read the paper, but Jennifer's book and her characters began pulling at me, creeping into my normal routine. It helped I was taking a day off of exercise, which somehow gave me the liberty, permission to read for the first hour of the morning.

It started raining.

I kept re...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Richard Thurman rated it 5 of 5 stars

I just turned the last page on an excellent book that I want you all to know about. The book is Faith by Jennifer Haigh. If you read a synopsis of the book, don't be put off by what is seemingly another novel about a child abuse scandal involving a priest. This book is much more than that. The story is narrated by Sheila McGann, a lapsed Catholic from a dysfunctionally blended family. But don't tell Sheila it's a blended family; she claims that it wasn't so much blended as two separate families...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Margaret rated it 5 of 5 stars

After reading Haigh's The Condition, I wanted more of her books. i wasn't disappointed. In fact, I think Faith is an even better read. The subject of the Catholic church and its fairly recent scandal about priests and child abuse is a sensitive subject, but is dealt with in a candid manner with no excuses for the abuse; but it does present the possibility that not all accusations are true. Father Art is the older half-brother of Sheila and Mike, all raised in a traditional Irish-Catholic Boston...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Tom rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literary-genre-fiction

Jennifer Haigh's "Faith" is an amazing novel, and an especially daunting stylistic undertaking.

"Faith," in short, delves into one family touched by the Catholic Church, and the child abuse allegations that surfaced within the past decade.

Sheila McGann narrates the saga. Her elder half-brother, Arthur, is a well-loved priest in a Boston area church. One day, he's called into the Archbishop's office, where he is told that he has been accused of inappropriately touching a young boy. Arthur's prot...more Jennifer Haigh's "Faith" is an amazing novel, and an especially daunting stylistic undertaking.

"Faith," in short, delves into one family touched by the Catholic Church, and the child abuse allegations that surfaced within the past decade.

Sheila McGann narrates the saga. Her elder half-brother, Arthur, is a well-loved priest in a Boston area church. One day, he's called into the Archbishop's office, where he is told that he has been accused of inappropriately touching a young boy. Arthur's protests of innocence are ignored; he's suspended with pay pending an investigation, and the Diocese has rented him an apartment.

Sheila weaves a rich tapestry of family history, uncloseting many skeletons in the process. She takes us inside the McGann home, both for good times and bad, for laughter and rage.

Ms. Haigh's most notable accomplishment is that "Faith" reads like an actual memoir. Through Sheila, the author provides so much casual backstory--those details an outside biographer wouldn't find through research (e.g., Sheila's mother's ritualistic dish-washing procedure)--that we become convinced that Sheila is real; that Art is a beloved priest, their brother, Mike, a successful realtor, and that the family patriarch is an oft-unstable alcoholic. To write a novel, but have it so perfectly resemble a biography or memoir, is hugely difficult, and Jennifer Haigh pulls it off.

Usually.

Right at the beginning of "Faith," Sheila tells us she will be recreating some events based on other people's recollections. In just a few sections, the memoir feeling disappears, and it becomes takes awhile before we are drawn back into the organic autobiographical feeling. This disappointed me a little, just because what she was accomplishing was so stylistically rare and wonderful, that any deviation from that saddened me. In time, that reader/narratrix relationship is restored, though I had minor trust issues. (nb:ask any of my exes; they'll confirm my trust issues)

Seriously, this is but a nit-picking observation. "Faith" is a brilliant novel.

We all have secrets--every member of every family. Often, a major event will rock a family, and no adequate explanation can be found, simply because every relative is holding back one critical fact. It's almost like the fail-safe system in missile silos, where there are two keys, and two men have to turn them at the exact same moment. You can turn one key all day, and nothing will happen. It's the same when every family member has a piece or two of the puzzle they won't put on the table.

"Faith" is a wonderful novel, tender and loving in some spots, and heart-rending in others.

That's how families work--how life works--and Jennifer Haigh just nails it, from page one to page last.

Highly Recommended. (less)

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Dec 04, 2012 Tina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio

The pedophilia scandal in the Catholic diocese of Boston in the early part of this century is certainly one that is well known by everybody who can read or who has a TV set. Jennifer Haigh uses this setting to present us with a story of a family, the McGanns, steeped in the traditions and superstitions and faith of the Boston Irish Catholics of that period. Haigh has the daughter Sheila tell the story. Fr. Art Breen, the oldest son, is accused of pedophilia by a single mom whom he has befriended...more The pedophilia scandal in the Catholic diocese of Boston in the early part of this century is certainly one that is well known by everybody who can read or who has a TV set. Jennifer Haigh uses this setting to present us with a story of a family, the McGanns, steeped in the traditions and superstitions and faith of the Boston Irish Catholics of that period. Haigh has the daughter Sheila tell the story. Fr. Art Breen, the oldest son, is accused of pedophilia by a single mom whom he has befriended. Mike, the younger brother who had been a cop for awhile, assumes his half brother is guilty. Their mother refuses to believe the accusations, and although the newspapers jump right in, the church refuses to discuss it, Art refuses to hire a lawyer, and it is Sheila who decides she must determine the truth of what really happened. It is her quest for the truth that allows us to see how different versions of "Faith" can exist on so many different levels.

This is a book that has many stories:
There's the Irish Catholic Boston pedophilia story.
There's the story of priestly vocations - what is it that draws men to this way of life? How do they live their lives of quiet loneliness? What kind of training do they get to handle those difficulties?
There's the family story: how does the mother relate to her adult children? How does the sister reconcile her feelings for the brothers? What impact does this scandal have on the other brother's marriage?
There's passion play of characters in addition to the immediate family. The accuser, the supposed victim, the various clerics and officials all contribute to the dynamics of belief, guilt, secret-keeping, forgiveness, and redemption that are the story's hallmark.

I found the device of using the sister to narrate and drive the story a bit confusing at first, but can't imagine a better way to bring all the divergent views and motivations together. Therese Plummer does a spot-on job as a narrator in giving us the Boston Catholic viewpoint and accent. This is a story written compassionately, and with great insight into the many aspects of events that happen when such an accusation is flung into the air. Jennifer Haigh gives us a caring and sensitive look at the Catholic Church and its struggles over the past decades - going back to Vatican II and working forward. She gives excellent explanations of rituals, traditions, and a way of life that will be familiar to those who have lived it, and understandable to those looking in from the outside.

What she discovers, and what she does with the information is best omitted here to avoid spoilers. It's a remarkable book that treats a very distasteful subject with objectivity, understanding, and empathy, while allowing the reader to process it from his or her own perspective. Well worth the read.

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Nov 13, 2012 Book Concierge rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Lovers of literary fiction

Narrator Sheila McGann tells the story of her Irish-Catholic family against the backdrop of the priest-sex-abuse scandal that rocked the Boston Archdiocese. Sheila’s older half-brother, Art, is a priest accused of molesting a child. Her younger brother, like much of the community, is horrified and repulsed by the allegations and immediately assumes Father Art’s guilt. Their mother is paralyzed by fear and dread – loving her son, not believing the accusations, unable to face her faith community a...more

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Oct 22, 2012 Sue rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Sue by: book group selection

The story is character driven. The characters are human and believable. The story highlights the treatment of priests as something other than regular human beings.

Use of the unreliable narrator (told in the first person) fits the situation of the accusation of sexual abuse in which it's often hard to be sure of what is the truth. Reputations are destroyed even if the accused is found to be innocent. The accusation affects family and friends as well.

The book is described by many as suspensful. I...more

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Sep 01, 2012 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

The novel takes place in the early 2000's in Boston, when many Catholic priests were being accused of molesting children. This novel is told from the point of view of the sister of an accused priest. It's not salacious, though, or sensationalized. It's about family, and loneliness, and trust, and, yes, faith -- faith in God, but also faith in your family, and what happens when that faith is called into question.

The narrator is telling this story in 2004, 2 years after all of the allegations com...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Jill rated it 4 of 5 stars

Note: This review by Jill is followed by separate discussion sections by Jim and Jill, since we both read the book and disagreed on its merits.

On Good Friday in 2002, Father Art Breen is called to the headquarters of the Boston Archdiocese. He receives notice that he is being suspended because of accusations of child abuse leveled against him by an anonymous accuser. Shocked, he is told to vacate the rectory immediately, and repair to an apartment the Church rented for him.

It takes no time for t...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Dori Ostermiller rated it 4 of 5 stars

A deep and somewhat chilling story about family ties, religion and the implications of silence and secrecy. What captured my interest most about the book is the innovative and masterful story-telling style, the way Haigh takes certain liberties (and succeeds!) with narrative perspective and voice. The story is written partially from the first person POV of Sheila, who sets off on a quest to uncover her brother Art's innocence after he's been accused (as a priest) of sexually abusing a child... I...more

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May 12, 2012 Evelyn rated it 5 of 5 stars

What a wonderful surprise! I never expected to be so blown away by this book. Though the subject is potentially horrible--a Boston-area priest is accused of molesting a child and the consequences of the accusation--the author's deft and sensitive handling of the story makes this a heartbreaking albeit lovely book. Set in Boston in 2002 as the snowballing accusations of child molestation by local priests successively undermines both the Catholic church and the Boston Archdiocese, Faith zeros in o...more

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Apr 05, 2012 Melissa Crytzer Fry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Haigh’s story tells the tale of a scandal involving a priest during the early 2000s when the Catholic church, in real life, continually made headlines for allegations of abuse. Told through the half-sister’s point of view, this story includes the uncovering of a mystery and reveals the grave consequences that can stem from miscommunication.

Haigh is a gifted writer; I will forever be reminded of “Mary on a half shell,” as well as multiple passages of exquisite language. But what stood out most to...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Lucy rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's been so long since I've had the luxury of reading an entire novel in one day so that fact alone must contribute to how much I liked this book.

Faith, by Jennifer Haigh, exposes the title's opposite power: doubt. Art Breen, a Catholic priest, has been accused of molesting a young boy. His family members - a devout mother, sympathetic sister and estranged brother, all react to the news quite differently. The author employs a powerful plot tool in forcing the reader to also examine our own fait...more

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Mar 17, 2012 Carol Moore rated it 4 of 5 stars

Faith ****…Jennifer Haigh
Topics: the Catholic Church, faith, priests, celibacy, family secrets, pedophilia, public scandal
I really became invested in the story halfway through. I almost abandoned the book because the way the story was told was a bit confusing during the first half. The book’s narrator, Sheila, only knows the whole story about her brother because she has put a lot of time into putting all the pieces together, going through her brother’s effects, talking to everyone who knew him,...more Faith ****…Jennifer Haigh
Topics: the Catholic Church, faith, priests, celibacy, family secrets, pedophilia, public scandal
I really became invested in the story halfway through. I almost abandoned the book because the way the story was told was a bit confusing during the first half. The book’s narrator, Sheila, only knows the whole story about her brother because she has put a lot of time into putting all the pieces together, going through her brother’s effects, talking to everyone who knew him, and so on. Sheila’s brother was “Art”, known to most people as “Father Arthur”. So, I kept waiting for the narration to return to the point: Arthur. Instead, there were details about all the members of the family and various priests—lots of background information. Eventually, the author Jennifer Haigh weaves all the various strands together, and then the book takes off. Then it is absorbing, and all that background information is relevant. The sensitive topics of pedophilia and the effects of celibacy on priests are handled with great skill and sensitivity. The author, cares about each character. None is a sterotype. The story itself is inriguing too. Since it is based on the terrible scandal in the Catholic Church, there is the added appeal of real events and real people. I thought that the last part of the book was brilliant. She used water as part of the plot and then as a metaphor. The writing was fantastic. Very strong finish.
Summary: “ It is the spring of 2002 and scandal hits Boston. Across the city's archdiocese, trusted priests have been accused of the worst possible betrayal of the souls in their care. In Faith, Jennifer Haigh explores the fallout for one devout family, the McGanns. Sheila McGann is estranged from her complicated family. But when her older brother Art, pastor of a large suburban parish, finds himself at the center of a scandal, Sheila returns to Boston, ready to fight for him. Her strict mother lives in a state of angry denial; her younger brother Mike has already convicted his brother in his heart. But most disturbing of all is Art himself, who persistently dodges Sheila's questions and refuses to defend himself. As the scandal forces long-buried secrets to surface, Faith explores the corrosive consequences of one family's history of silence -- and the resilience its members ultimately find in forgiveness. Throughout, Haigh demonstrates how the truth can shatter our deepest beliefs -- and restore them.”

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Jan 31, 2012 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I would give this book four stars for being a gut-wrenching but ultimately redemptive story of a family's tortured past, and about one star for its failure to provide any sort of nuanced commentary on the sexual abuse scandal in the American Catholic church.

The story dwells on a Catholic priest, accused of molesting a little boy within months of the Diocese of Boston's sexual abuse scandal breaking into the press. The story is told by his younger sister, and a great deal of the suspense in the...more I would give this book four stars for being a gut-wrenching but ultimately redemptive story of a family's tortured past, and about one star for its failure to provide any sort of nuanced commentary on the sexual abuse scandal in the American Catholic church.

The story dwells on a Catholic priest, accused of molesting a little boy within months of the Diocese of Boston's sexual abuse scandal breaking into the press. The story is told by his younger sister, and a great deal of the suspense in the novel comes from the "did he or didn't he" narration. But the emotional force of the story centers squarely on the accused priest's life, and that of his family, and so is also a tale about upward mobility for the working-class Boston Irish. Haigh draws the priest's brother, a police-man turned successful real estate broker, with an especially sharp perception of the emotional contours of becoming middle class. The sister-narrator herself is less well-fleshed out, often functioning as an almost omniscient narrator, which itself caused a bit of grinding in the tectonic plates of the narrative: there were times when I was distracted from the plot because I was wondering "How could you know this? When did you find this out?"

Haigh is splendid at outlining the place that the Catholic church - as a provider of education, social prestige, Bingo, and salvation -- takes in the life of this family, so that you do fully feel and believe the impact that the accusation has on all of them: the devout, the second-generation Easter Catholics, and the entirely fallen away. The novel is especially savvy about juxtaposing Catholic romanticism about the church with the dullness, the disappointment, and the downright evil that it also offers. When her novel culminates in a moment of true sacrifice, it is a breathtaking surprise because so little of her narrative has offered us reason to expect that someone associated with the church would choose to do the right thing; nonetheless, the culmination rings true to the novel's basic tone. I confess that this is probably the only novel I've ever cried over in my adult life.

But -- but. It isn't a novel which challenges the fundamental way that the sex abuse scandal has been narrated. The bad guys are still the bad guys at the end of the novel, and we don't actually have a clearer sense of why they're bad than we did when we started. By the end of the novel we are relieved to find out that we haven't been put in the uncomfortable position of having sympathized with or identified with any child molesters. In fact, the novel is a bit cheap in the way it substitutes the betrayal we think might have happened with another betrayal that the novel implies is lesser in some ways. And thinking about that makes me a bit ashamed that the novel made me cry along with it.(less)

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Jan 14, 2012 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Set in Boston during the 2002 priest sexual abuse scandals, Faith challenges us to look beyond the crimes to examine how human interactions change after the accusations. Sheila McGann, the novel's main character and narrator, is the half-sister of Arthur Breen, a once-popular cleric now ensnared in charges of abusing a young boy. Returning to her family, with whom she has difficult relations, Sheila attempts to support her embattled sibling, but everyone, including Art himself, seems unwilling o...more Set in Boston during the 2002 priest sexual abuse scandals, Faith challenges us to look beyond the crimes to examine how human interactions change after the accusations. Sheila McGann, the novel's main character and narrator, is the half-sister of Arthur Breen, a once-popular cleric now ensnared in charges of abusing a young boy. Returning to her family, with whom she has difficult relations, Sheila attempts to support her embattled sibling, but everyone, including Art himself, seems unwilling or emotionally unable to cooperate. Ultimately, this powerful novel is about how one family responds to a devastating crisis. A provocative choice for book clubs.

This is the kind of book you put down and feel viscerally moved and thinking, feeling, and mulling over the book. At first blush, it appears to be a simple story. Art, part of the Boston Diocese, has been accused of sexually molesting a child. Yet the book begins with Arthur's mother, shortly after Arthur was born. She's alone in the house, waiting for her long overdue husband. Her mother-in-law, who never accepted her, is dead and her marriage is not looking much better. She shamelessly chased the man who is her husband, found herself pregnant, quickly married by an uncle priest, and now shady characters are looking for her husband.

The story is revealed by Arthur's half sister, Sheila, told through her investigations and first person. It is not simply a quest for innocence or guilt, but a quest for understanding of the family dynamics, how each person plays a part in the saga, and the historical drive. Each character is flawed but not broken. Each character is complicated and not easily summarized. Aiden, the alleged victim plays a surprisingly small part.

It is feast for a book club. So many issues are addressed. Although not Catholic, I believe one theme that could be explored is the requirement of celibacy. Also, a discussion of severity of sins. Then the purpose of love, family dynamics, societal need to demonize the accused, and, of course, a discussion on the true victim(s) of the book.

A couple of nuggets:

"The adult who preys on children is, to the rest of us, a frightening enigma. Of their inner lives we know little, and a little knowledge is more dangerous than none. While it is true that most pedophiles were themselves victims, it turns out that the correlation is weaker in the other direction. Not all victims grow up to be predators." p. 316

"...each new love is built from the wreckage of the loves that came before... We love those who fit the peculiar voids within us, our hollow wounds. We love to fill the spaces the old loves left behind." p. 314

A deeply moving and articulate book. (less)

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Jan 04, 2012 Danna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: tragic, catholicism, priests, alcoholism, boston, favorites

"...sooner or later you have to decide what you believe... faith is a decision. In its most basic form, it is a choice" (160)

I absolutely loved Faith by Jennifer Haigh. Faith is narrated by Sheila, a young woman living in Philadelphia who grew up in Boston with her Irish Catholic family. The BIC culture gives a flavor to the entire book - Haigh is right on with her language, cultural references, and jokes about the local towns (such as the W in Wellesley, West Newton, Weston standing for Wealth)...more

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 25, 2011 Judith rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a discovery of my Goodreads friend Carl, and I really enjoyed it. It's the story of a priest accused of sexual molestation of a young boy (ho hum, right? ). But the story is told from the various perspectives of the accused priest, and his adult siblings: a brother and sister. Of course the accusation rocks the family by its very foundation and everyone goes through their own various stages of disbelief, fear, doubt, faith, annoyance, and embarrassment. You may think you have heard enou...more

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Oct 28, 2011 Julia rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read this book in 2 days while on vacation in New Orleans last week!

Sheila, the narrator in this story is a 30 something single woman whose older brother is a well loved pastor in the Catholic church and has recently been accused of inappropriate behaviour. Sheila's younger brother has already written him off as guilty and refuses to enter into any kind of disussion. Sheila's mother is totally distraught over the accusation and trys hard to act as if nothing is wrong.

When Sheila comes to her...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 24, 2011 Carl rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I was hooked on this excellently written novel right from the first chapter. I was not raised Catholic, nor am I now religious, but this book should appeal to nearly anyone who can look at the world with an open mind, religious and non-religious alike.

While the press is sensationalizing the pedophile-priest scandals, there is a human tendency for us to forget that not everyone accused is guilty, and that those not guilty are human individuals, with real lives, loved ones, and feelings. This book...more

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 11, 2011 Annie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another really good book. It has a quiet thoughtfulness and strength. I liked that the narrator was agnostic, it put the book in a more neutral position. While I didn't necessarily agree with all the observations she made, the book had great depth and understanding. Good stuff.

I was on vacation in NC in the summer of 2002 and we went to church on Sunday at a local church. When the service was over the priest stood up and asked for prayers for faith, for the Catholic church and for priests and pa...more

2 likes · like · see review

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About Jennifer Haigh

Jennifer Haigh is an American novelist and short story writer. Her most recent novel, FAITH (HarperCollins, 2010), tells the story of a beloved Boston priest accused of a molesting a child. Her previous novels include the New York Times bestsellers THE CONDITION and BAKER TOWERS, winner of the 2006 PEN/L. L. Winship Award for outstanding book by a New England author. Her critically acclaimed debut...more

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“The story of my family. . .changes with the teller.” — 21 people liked it

“I wanted only a familiar voice, someone who knew me. Not some earlier, larval version of myself. . .” — 20 people liked it

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